The 16 most infamous crimes in Bay Area history

By Kevin Fagan & Katie Dowd

on November 11, 2013 1:24 AM

Photo: Handout Photo/U. S. Penitentiary Alcatraz

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The Jack the Ripper of the Bay Area: Zodiac is our bogeyman.

On August 1, 1969, the San Francisco Chronicle received its first letter from a man who called himself Zodiac. A series of cryptograms — only the first of which was ever definitively cracked — were sent from Zodiac to various media outlets in the Bay Area.

The letters revealed a spree of murders: Police believe Zodiac killed at least five — three women, one teen boy and a cab driver in San Francisco. His last confirmed murder took place on October 11, 1969 but he continued sending letters to the Chronicle for several more years before going silent.

In 2002, former Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith posited the killer was Arthur Leigh Allen, a theory that was adapted for the film “Zodiac” by David Fincher. The murders remain unsolved although cold case officials in Napa County report still receiving two to three tips per week.

The Jack the Ripper of the Bay Area: Zodiac is our bogeyman. ... Photo-2949584.72881 - seattlepi.com

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Fong "Little Pete" Ching (second from right) was the king of Chinatown in 1897. As leader of the Sam Yup Tong, the 32-year-old was rumored to have killed 50 men, and was worth more than $150,000 - a fortune in those days - in gains from his empire built on prostitution, gambling and opium.

Little Pete never went anywhere without a bodyguard, plus two German shepherds, two pistols, a chain-mail armor vest, and a hat reinforced with metal to function as a helmet.

But on Jan. 23, Little Pete let down his guard. He was getting the finishing touches on a shave at the Wong Lung barbershop at 819 Washington St. when two gunmen burst in and held him down. They shoved a .45-caliber revolver under the chain mail and pumped five bullets into his spine, then two more into his head.

By the time the police came, The Chronicle wrote, "Little Pete's face, clean shaven, powder-marked and bloody, was setting into the fixed stare that marks death." Nobody was ever convicted.

Fong "Little Pete" Ching (second from right) was the king of Chinatown in 1897. As leader of the Sam Yup Tong, the 32-year-old was rumored to have killed 50 men, and was worth more than $150,000 - a fortune in ... more

It was a reign of terror that shocked the city: From the autumn of 1973 until the spring of 1974, San Francisco wasn’t safe at night while the Zebra killers stalked the streets.

Named after the Z radio channel that police used to communicate about the case, the Zebra murders claimed the lives of 14 people. The killers, Jesse Lee Cooks, Manuel Moore, Larry Green and J.C. Simon, were all African Americans targeting whites allegedly in the hopes of igniting a race war.

In a panic, San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto (seen here followed by angry protestors) authorized the police to stop any black male who generally met the descriptions of the killers. Hundreds of innocent men were questioned before a federal judge put a stop to the practice.

The break in the case came when the city put up a $30,000 reward. A man came forward with information that linked seven men to the killings. Cooks, Moore, Green and Simon were eventually sentenced to life in prison for their role in the murders. Earlier this year, Cooks was denied release by the state parole board.

It was a reign of terror that shocked the city: From the autumn of... Photo-5379624.72881 - seattlepi.com

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He was by reputation an honest man, but in the days of graft and quick death in the early 1900s, that wasn't enough to save Police Chief William Biggy. Scandal at City Hall led to ominous whispers - and in 1908, the chief disappeared.

He was crossing the bay on a police boat at sundown on Nov. 30 when the dark deed was done. Or not done. The pilot of the boat, Officer William Murphy, told investigators he last saw the chief vomiting over the gunwale. Two weeks later, Biggy's body washed up on Angel Island.

Wags had been whispering that Biggy was involved in the shooting of a prosecutor trying to bring down one of the city's political bagmen, and one theory was that Biggy was bumped off in retaliation.
But San Francisco crime historian Kevin Mullen believes Biggy killed himself in despair over being accused of something so nefarious when he was actually an honest cop in a corrupt city.

He was by reputation an honest man, but in the days of graft and quick death in the early 1900s, that wasn't enough to save Police Chief William Biggy. Scandal at City Hall led to ominous whispers - and in ... more

Photo: Chronicle Archive

He was by reputation an honest man, but in the days of graft and... Photo-5379615.72881 - seattlepi.com

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Known as the godfather of the Oakland drug trade, Felix Mitchell became even more infamous after his death — when he had the most famous and controversial outlaw funeral in state history.

Mitchell, who grew up in the now-demolished 69th Avenue San Antonio Village projects, moved heroin all over the Bay Area and LA in the late 70's and early 80's as the leader of the 69th Avenue Mob. He came onto the radar of federal agents as the Oakland murder rate spiked, due in part to the drug war said to be being waged on the streets.

Mitchell was convicted of tax evasion and multiple drug charges and sentenced to life in prison in 1985. The next year, Mitchell was fatally stabbed in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.

His final homecoming looked more like the funeral of a sitting president than that of a drug lord. Thousands lined the streets of the East Bay as Mitchell’s funeral procession marched through Oakland to Emeryville. His casket was carried by a horse-drawn carriage followed by 14 Rolls Royce limos.

Known as the godfather of the Oakland drug trade, Felix Mitchell... Photo-5379604.72881 - seattlepi.com

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On June 12, 1962, Alcatraz prison guards awoke to find that brothers Clarence and John Anglin and Frank Morris were missing from their cells. In their beds were dummy heads made of soap, toilet paper and human hair and in their cell walls were holes they'd dug over the course of a year using spoons.

The three men escaped through the holes and into ventilation shafts that took them to the roof. They used standard-issue prisoner raincoats to construct a raft and set off onto the inky bay waters. From there, they were never seen again.

Most believe the trio drowned but some think they made it to Angel Island or even to Marin County. The U.S. Marshals Service keeps the case open to this day.

On June 12, 1962, Alcatraz prison guards awoke to find that brothers Clarence and John Anglin and Frank Morris were missing from their cells. In their beds were dummy heads made of soap, toilet paper and human ... more

His is one of the most memorable and infamous nicknames in history: The Unabomber.

Ted Kaczynski’s life seemed to have a promising start — in his early 20s, he became the youngest-ever professor at UC Berkeley. But he abruptly quit in 1969 and began a strange downward spiral.

Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski sent bombs all over the nation with the intent of killing people involved with advancing modern technology. His handmade bombs injured a professor and a graduate student at UC Berkeley and killed two men in Sacramento.

The Unabomber was found in a remote cabin in Montana and arrested by FBI agents in 1996. He plead guilty to charges of transportation, mailing and use of bombs and murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Last year, Kaczynski submitted his latest information to the Harvard Alumni Association. He listed his current occupation as “prisoner” and his eight life sentences as his achievement.

His is one of the most memorable and infamous nicknames in history:... Photo-5379605.72881 - seattlepi.com

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In 1955, Jim Jones opened his first Peoples Temple in Indianapolis. Two decades later, he would lead his congregation — made up of hundreds of Bay Area residents — to commit one of the most horrifying acts of mass suicide in history.

Jones arrived in California in the 1960s and immediately began to grow his flock. His first church was located in Ukiah. He soon added a large church in Redwood Valley and took over an old synagogue on Fillmore Street in San Francisco.

At first things were good: The racially integrated church drew praise from local politicians. But then news of Jones’ tyrannical reign over his congregation began to leak. Jones and his followers fled to a compound in the jungles of Guyana. In November 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan of San Mateo, a group of reporters and worried family members landed at Jonestown to investigate. Ryan and four others were shot dead on the airstrip.

Warning of an impending slaughter, Jones coerced the members of Jonestown to drink poisoned punch. Nine hundred and eighteen people died.
Today, a memorial in Oakland’s Evergreen Cemetery marks the spot where over 400 people who died at Jonestown are buried in a mass grave.

In 1955, Jim Jones opened his first Peoples Temple in Indianapolis. Two decades later, he would lead his congregation — made up of hundreds of Bay Area residents — to commit one of the most horrifying acts ... more

Photo: UPI, The Chronicle

In 1955, Jim Jones opened his first Peoples Temple in... Photo-5379611.72881 - seattlepi.com

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Comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the biggest silent-movie stars in the world in two respects in September 1921: He'd just signed an unprecedented $1 million film contract, and he famously weighed 266 pounds.

Arbuckle came to the city by the bay that year to celebrate his new contract - but on Sept. 5, on the third day of a booze-fueled party at the St. Francis Hotel, Arbuckle's career skidded to an ugly end.

Virginia Rappe was one of the more fetching carousers at the party, and Arbuckle later testified that he found her vomiting in his bathroom. He put her to bed, he said, and summoned the hotel doctor.
Some witnesses told a hoarier tale. The hefty film star, they said, had raped 26-year-old Rappe with a bottle and crushed her with his girth during the act.

Rappe died three days later of peritonitis caused by a ruptured bladder. Based on the salacious accusations, Arbuckle was tried three times for murder. The last produced an innocence verdict - but the damage was done. He was blackballed in Hollywood and died at 46 of a heart attack in 1933.

Comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the biggest silent-movie stars in the world in two respects in September 1921: He'd just signed an unprecedented $1 million film contract, and he famously weighed 266 ... more

Photo: Handout, Chronicle Archive

Comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the biggest... Photo-3794642.72881 - seattlepi.com

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On July 1, 1993, 55-year-old Gian Luigi Ferri walked into 101 California Street and opened fire inside the 34th floor offices of the law firm of Pettit & Martin. Ferri killed eight and injured six before turning the gun on himself.

For those seeking answers, there were few. Ferri seemed to have no personal grievances against the employees of Pettit & Martin, leaving behind a rambling letter that claimed he had been poisoned by the MSG in food. As a result of the mass shooting, the state of California enacted even tougher gun laws and repealed a law that gave gun manufacturers immunity against lawsuits.

Here, commander Richard Holder holds the gun that Ferri used to kill himself.

On July 1, 1993, 55-year-old Gian Luigi Ferri walked into 101 California Street and opened fire inside the 34th floor offices of the law firm of Pettit & Martin. Ferri killed eight and injured six before ... more

It may be the most famous murder in Oakland history: the shooting of Black Panther Huey P. Newton.

Newton (right) grew up in the Bay Area, graduating Oakland Tech in 1959 before moving on to Merritt College in Oakland. While there, Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in 1966. Newton came to be a vocal representative of the Black Power movement throughout the 60’s and 70’s. His group became notorious for its militancy and armed shows of force.

On August 22, 1989, Newton was leaving a crack house in West Oakland when he was confronted and shot to death by a 24-year-old drug dealer. His last words before being shot were allegedly: "You can kill my body, but you can't kill my soul. My soul will live forever."

It may be the most famous murder in Oakland history: the shooting... Photo-5379613.72881 - seattlepi.com

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Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was just an ordinary student at UC Berkeley until the day she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974.

Hearst was kept locked away in a closet in an apartment near the University of San Francisco until April 15 when she emerged, gun in hand, to help her captors hold up the Hibernia Bank. The group made off with over $10,000 and shot two people.

Patty Hearst was arrested on robbery charges in 1976. Her attorneys argued she had Stockholm syndrome, but the jury found her guilty. Her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and she was later given a full pardon by President Clinton.

Perhaps the most confounding death mystery of all is one in which a body is never found. That is the enduring horror surrounding Kevin Collins, the 10-year-old boy who disappeared on his way home from basketball practice in 1984.

Kevin was last seen sitting on a bus bench at Oak Street and Masonic Avenue at 6:40 p.m. Despite a nationwide hunt and a cover story in Newsweek magazine, no solid suspect has ever emerged.

"He's deceased, " Kevin's despondent father, David Collins, finally told The Chronicle in 1996 as he closed the search center he ran for 12 years in an effort to find his boy. "If he could have, he would have come back to us."

Perhaps the most confounding death mystery of all is one in which a body is never found. That is the enduring horror surrounding Kevin Collins, the 10-year-old boy who disappeared on his way home from ... more

Photo: Paul Sakuma, Associated Press 1984

Perhaps the most confounding death mystery of all is one in which a... Photo-4108808.72881 - seattlepi.com

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Tragically, San Francisco’s most famous gay rights activist became its most famous martyr when, on November 27, 1978, Dan White walked into City Hall and shot Supervisor Harvey Milk along with Mayor George Moscone.

The city’s outpouring of grief was tremendous. That night, an impromptu candlelight vigil of tens of thousands started in the Castro and marched to City Hall. In death, Milk became the enduring symbol for gay rights; he was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 for his contributions to the gay rights movement.

Long before President Obama became famous for invoking hope, Milk spoke on the same subject. His speeches, like this one, still inspire today:

"Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up. And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone."

Tragically, San Francisco’s most famous gay rights activist became its most famous martyr when, on November 27, 1978, Dan White walked into City Hall and shot Supervisor Harvey Milk along with Mayor George ... more

When Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey was murdered in 2007, it was only the beginning of the unravelling of the lurid history of Your Black Muslim Bakery.

The bakery, founded in the late 1960s by Yusuf Bey, had for decades represented black entrepreneurship in North and West Oakland. Politicians recognized it as a community force; Jerry Brown once gave a stump speech there. But the bakery was a facade for the Bey family’s often violent power struggles.

There were kidnappings, disappearances, murders and allegations of abuse and rape enacted upon the young women who worked at the bakery. Bailey’s murder, supposedly for investigating too deeply into the bakery’s finances and power structure, precipitated a massive raid that took in several high-ranking members.

Yusuf Bey IV (seen here) was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison. The bakery was renovated and now houses several different stores in its former compound.

Every once and a while, a trial comes along that captivates the nation. The Scott Peterson trial was one of them. The case took on such a level of notoriety that the proceedings had to be moved to San Mateo County to find a jury that didn’t already believe Peterson was guilty of the murder of his wife and their unborn child.

Scott Peterson’s wife Laci, who was eight months pregnant, was reported missing from their home in Modesto on Christmas Eve 2002. Although her husband wasn’t initially a suspect, inconsistencies in his story and evidence of extramarital affairs put Scott in the spotlight as the primary suspect.

The bodies of Laci and her fetus washed up on the shore in Richmond in April and Scott Peterson was arrested days later. In his possession were $15,000 in cash and four cell phones.

In 2005, he was sentenced to death. He is currently on death row at San Quentin.

Every once and a while, a trial comes along that captivates the nation. The Scott Peterson trial was one of them. The case took on such a level of notoriety that the proceedings had to be moved to San Mateo ... more

Photo: Justin Sullivan

Every once and a while, a trial comes along that captivates the... Photo-2162434.72881 - seattlepi.com